Integrated circuits are designed to meet certain design specifications. Integrated circuits are tested before they are sold to determine whether they meet the design specifications. For relatively simple devices (i.e., devices with only a few input and output terminals (e.g., pins)), a test may involve applying signals to the input terminals, measuring the response on the output terminals, and comparing the actual response to the designed response. This comparison is performed for each permutation of input signals on the input terminals.
As errors are observed between the designed and actual output signal states, design problems in the device under test or in the load board may be pinpointed and remedied. Remedying the design problems of the device under test requires that the signals on the input and output pins of the device under test be monitored. One way of doing this uses an oscilloscope. A probe of the oscilloscope contacts each output pin for measuring the voltage on the output pin as the integrated circuit interacts with the load board. Unfortunately, some integrated circuits do not conventionally permit such monitoring. One such integrated circuit uses surface mounts such that terminals on the lower surface of the integrated circuit directly contact terminals on the upper surface of a socket. A lid over the integrated circuit compresses the terminals together when the lid is closed.
A problem with the conventional lidded surface mount device is that the surface mount integrated circuit can only interact with the load board when the lid, which covers all of the input and output terminals, is closed. Therefore, an oscilloscope probe is prevented from contacting the input or output terminals of the device under test while the device under test is interacting with the load board. Thus, the voltage states of the input and output terminals cannot be probed with the lid closed.
It is desirable to test the input/output signal characteristics of the surface mount integrated circuit as the circuit interacts with the load board.